Drawing is the discipline by which I constantly rediscover the world." Frederick Franck

In August 2017, using Frederick Franck’s book, "The Zen of Seeing- Drawing as Meditation" as a starting point, artist Mark Stephenson led a day-long workshop on the art of seeing at CFA. This upcoming three day workshop is an expansion on the concepts and techniques explored in that workshop.

As Franck said, "Everyone thinks he knows what a lettuce looks like. But start to draw one and you realize the anomaly of having lived with lettuces all your life but never having seen one, never having seen the semi-translucent leaves curling in their own lettuce way, never having noticed what makes a lettuce a lettuce rather than a curly kale." Through discussion, illustration, and practice the participants in this workshop will explore how to move from "knowing" what something looks like to truly seeing and capturing what you see in drawing.

This is a completely independent workshop. Although exploring the same concepts as the previous workshop, there is NO prerequisite for this workshop and it IS NOT necessary that you have attended the workshop in August to attend this workshop

Artists of all levels are welcome. Each artist will provide their own drawing/sketching materials and any media may be used. Each participant is encouraged to buy and read "The Zen of Seeing: Seeing/Drawing as Meditation" by Frederick Franck, Publisher: Vintage (September 12, 1973), ISBN-10: 0394719689 prior to the workshop

Schedule for the workshop is:

Friday, March 23, 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Presentation by Mark Stephenson including an exploration of the Franck text and guided discussion.

Saturday, March 24, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm -- outdoor drawing/painting session at location TBD, with break for lunch. Guided by Mark, but participants can use medium of choice. No experience necessary

TO PAY:Use the Donate button at the bottom of this page or Mail a check to :Center for Faith & the ArtsP. O. Box 4098Salisbury, NC 28145QUESTIONS: Call us at 704-647-0999

About the instructor: North Carolina native Mark Stephenson is an artist based in central NC who through a multi-faceted background, brings a unique perspective to his work. A graduate of Pfeiffer University, North Carolina State University and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Mark earned degrees in Civil Engineering and Vocal Performance.

Stephenson was selected for a 2017 Cultural Arts and Development Grant from the Rowan Arts Council. For this grant project, Mark will attend a week-long workshop at Cullowhee Mountain Arts. Mark's current exhibit. "Immediacy," is now hanging in the galleries at CFA.

With an initial plan to pursue a career as an opera singer, Mark relocated to New York City in the 1990s where he eventually found his way to the prestigious Art Students League studying with noted painters and sculptors Frank O’Cain, Leonid Gervitz, and Leonid Lerman. Success at the Arts Students League ushered in awards and commissions including acceptance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s copyists program.

Since returning to North Carolina, Mark has devoted much of his time to commissioned portraits. He has exhibited in many national juried shows and his work has been featured in solo shows throughout the state. In May of 2014, Mark was artist in residence at La Macina di San Cresci, Italy. He has received grants and awards from many organizations including the Portrait Society of America, The Arts & Science Council, the Rowan Arts Council. His teaching experience includes workshops and demonstrations for Binders Art Supply, Sandhills Artist League, Matthews Artist Guild, Monroe Art League, Cabarrus Art Guild, Stanly Art Guild, Artifex Studio, and many others.

Mark and his wife, Caroline, have one son, James and a daughter, Emma.

About the author:

Frederick Franck was born April 12, 1909 in Maastricht, The Netherlands – and died on June 5, 2006 in Warwick, New York. A painter, sculptor, and author of over 35 books on life, art, and transreligious thought, he was known for his interest in human spirituality.

As a boy Franck watched the First World War break out in neighboring Belgium. The streams of refugees that crossed under his bedroom window awakened in him a life long hatred of warfare. An artist by nature, his training as a dental surgeon gave him the opportunity to work with Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Lambarene (Gabon, Africa) where he set up a dental surgery clinic at the Schweitzer hospital.

Raised an agnostic in the Catholic south of Holland; a lifelong student of Zen Buddhism, he also recognized in John the XXIII a man of immense Human stature.

Upon his return to Warwick, Franck, with his wife Claske, transformed the ruin of a watermill across the river from his Warwick NY home into Pacem in Terris - a transreligious Oasis. He dedicated it to Pope John XXIII, Albert Schweitzer and D.T. Suzuki, the Catholic pope, the Protestant doctor, the Buddhist sage he felt to be his mentors. The old mill and the grounds of the house - filled with the sculpture he referred to as 'Icons,' are open to the public during late spring through early fall. No admission is charged.His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Fogg Art Museum, the Tokyo National Museum, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. (fromwww.frederickfranck.org)Type your paragraph here.